Pig Bladder Helps Replace Muscle Lost by Trauma Victims

May 1, 2014

(Bloomberg) – A scaffold crafted from pig bladder and implanted in patients’ severely injured legs spurred stem cells to make muscle and improve limb function, a method that may change the standard of care. The technique, which didn’t require adding stem cells developed in the laboratory, improved abilities in three of five patients by at least 25 percent over physical therapy alone, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh said. All five patients, some with battlefield injuries who had lost 58 percent to 90 percent of muscle, reported improvement in quality of life.